1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer systems and, more specifically to computer systems including a method, system, and product for configuring a computer network utilizing products supplied by different vendors.
2. Description of Related Art
In the networking services business, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of possibilities when designing computer networks. These options revolve around which vendor""s networking hardware is used, which carriers/service providers are used for the transport layer, which standards/protocols are most appropriate, and which niche vendors provide specialized network equipment. A large part of configuring a network design is eliminating the large number of options and arriving at a few good options for the particular client situation. This process of eliminating options is highly time consuming and also highly dependent on the individual network designer who is responsible for choosing these options. The network designer may be familiar with and have experience with only a limited number of products. As a result, most network designs end up including products and services that the individual network designer knows and has worked with in the past. However, the network design selected by a particular individual may not be the best choice for a particular client.
Some network product vendors currently offer configuration tools accessible through the vendor""s Internet site. A user may access a particular vendor""s site, provide information about a network being designed, and receive information about all of that particular vendor""s products which could be used to implement the network design. However, these vendors select only the vendor""s products to include in the network design. None of the vendors select any competitor""s products to include in the recommended network design. Further, the vendors will return information about all of its products which could be selected resulting in an overwhelming amount of data for the designer to consider.
Therefore, a need exists for a method, system, and product for configuring a computer network utilizing only the most appropriate products supplied by one or more different vendors.
A method, system, and product are described for configuring a computer network. A database is established which includes information about multiple network products. The network products are supplied by multiple different vendors. The computer network is then configured by selecting ones of the network products to use to implement the computer network. The computer network is thus configured utilizing products available from different vendors. Attributes are established which are used to evaluate network products. Each of the network products are assigned a weighted value for each of the attributes. A selection of network products is made utilizing the attributes and the weighted values assigned to the network products.
The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.